A Shining Moon
by Cyndaquil143
Summary: Hi. My name is…well, I honestly don't know what my name is. All I know is that I am a stray. A stray dog out on the run, searching for a purpose in this, well, whatever this is.
1. Chapter 1

**A Shining Moon**

**Chapter One**

_Hi. My name is…well, I honestly don't know what my name is. All I know is that I am a stray. A stray dog out on the run, searching for a purpose in this, well, whatever this is. I'm quite unsure of all of this. I'm still finding my way. But when I do find it, it'll be worth wild. _

I was born a stray. Raised by my mother who had been my only friend, after my brothers and sisters had passed on, we only had each other to lean on. Being a stray wasn't always an easy thing. We were always in search of food, and of course, was rarely ever found. Hunger was something we knew quite well. Especially since it never left. Our stomachs were always growling at us, but we couldn't growl back, nor feed it. We always kept ourselves isolated. Isolated from other packs, and from creatures who stood on two legs. We had their scents memorized, so every time it hit our nose, we'd hide, or run the other way. Mother knew all the rules of the stray life, and I still hadn't learned them all.

Mother left me when I was only a year old. I didn't understand why, or how. One day she just didn't get up. I tried waking her up, but she wouldn't budge, and she had the weirdest scent to her. Something told me to keep moving. To never stop moving. To keep searching, and never turn around and come back. I guess that's how I ended up here. I just kept walking, of course with the occasional stop to lift my leg, and eat some pieces of food I found along the way, and when I got very tired, I curled in a corner, and rested for the night, but that was all.

So, all that walking and such led me here. A place where the water touched the Earth, and again retreats back. I had never seen such a place. It was actually quite beautiful. But, it wasn't all mine. My nose had caught a scent of something…something sweet? I've smelled this scent before, back when I was with my mother. This was the kind of scent familiar to the scents of the two legged creatures Mother told me to stay away from, so, I lowered myself to the ground, carefully watching as the scent became stronger, and closer.

I then caught sight of where the scent was coming from. A small female creature was slowly coming toward me. I swayed my tail a bit in friendliness, but also prepared my body for the worst. She was now extending her arm out to me. Was I supposed to smell it?

"Hey there, puppy. Are you lost?" She was now about two feet away from me.

I slowly reached up to touch my nose against her light, soft skin, and her scent invaded my nostrils. This girl was friendly, and it seemed she wanted to help.

She crouched down, and rubbed my cheek. "Good boy." She looked around as she used her other arm to dig in her pocket. "Well, I guess no one is with you, and you seem to not have a collar."

She took out a rope, and put it around my neck. The feeling felt uncomfortable, so I jerked back, but I couldn't get free. Instead, it tighted around my throat. "Hey! Hey! Calm down, boy! I won't hurt you." She stood up, reached behind me, and loosened the rope. "There. Come on, boy. You're coming home with me."

She patted her side, and I followed her. I felt secure. And the word _home_ had me curious. I wanted to know what _home_ was.

We came upon a building, a fairly large building that had water swaying through it. I had seen many of these in the year I had been alive. Sometimes, Mother and I would find empty ones, and we'd sleep inside them. We'd find very soft beds, and curl up next to each other, falling asleep. But the one the this girl brought me to wasn't empty. It was occupied by three other scents. Two older two-legged creatures, and a cat. I came to the conclusion that this was the girl's family.

"This is my home, boy. I hope Mommy and Daddy will let me keep you!" She began leading me toward the building, into a door, and we were inside.

The first new thing to greet me was the cat. He came over to sniff me. I've seen cats before. Mother hated them, but I had to impress the girl. He seemed unimpressed, and simply walked away.

"That's Mr. Fluff. Don't worry, he doesn't really like anyone else other than Mommy." She took the rope off of me, tossing it on the object that was positioned next to her. "Wait here. You may explore, but please do not chew up the couch." She was pointing to the object she threw the rope onto. I had learned a new word. She then left me, leaving me to explore the new surroundings.

While I sat patiently near the couch, the girl came back with two other two-legged creatures, a male and female. They were older than the girl, and were staring right at me. I lowered my ears just a little bit, hoping they weren't angry with me.

"I found him at the beach, all alone" The girl talked to her parents. I'm guessing she was telling them about me.

"Are you sure, Nina? There are a lot of people at the beach. Maybe his owner was around there." The older female spoke, extending her arm to me. I sniffed it.

"I'm sure. No one was around him, and see! He has no collar."

The older male now spoke. "Well, that is true. Maybe we should call the shelter."

"No, Daddy! You know what the shelter people do to dogs like him."

Dogs like me?

"She's right, Mark. He's a pit bull. He'll be put down as soon as he walks through the door."

The house was silent for a while. They all just seemed to stare at me, thinking deeply, I could tell. I just happily wagged my tail, hoping that someone would notice, and the silence would be broken.

"Well, I think we should let her keep him. I see no wrong in it." The older female was the first to speak, and when she did, the little girl squealed happy, and hugged the older female. "Thank you, Mommy!" And then she came over to hug me. "Did you hear that? You get to stay with us! You're home now!"

There was that word again. _Home_. What did _home_ mean? Did home mean a building? Or did _home_ mean a family of individuals who loved and cared for you? _Home_. What a silly, strange word.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Shining Moon**

**Chapter 2**

So, apparently, I was _home._ I had my own food, and my own bed…but the space was shared with by the little girl, who later on I figured out she was called Nina, and the cat, Mr. Fluff. I liked it though, I felt at ease, and I was able to sleep very well at night. I still can't figure out what exactly _home_ means. Oh well.

In the morning, Nina got up, brushed my fur, and headed off to eat. I also went to eat myself, and by the time we were done, she had to leave. I watched as she climbed into a big yellow car and it drove away. Minutes later, her family also left. I sat there, whining, wanting her to come back. I didn't want to be alone. Even though the cat was there, I didn't feel like dealing with him. So, I decided to follow the scent of the yellow car, and track down Nina.

I walked past many things, including other two-legged creatures, who pet me kindly, and fed me treats. But then, it was back to tracking down Nina. What if she got into danger and I wasn't there? What if the yellow car was evil and devoured her? I had to find her!

When the scent finally faded, I was now at an even bigger building than the building where Nina lives. I could smell other two-legged creatures like her inside, and a lot of talking.

I paced around the building, looking for an entrance, but no luck. So, I decided to just lay near the steps, and wait. Maybe Nina would come walking out eventually, and treat me! Yeah! I was now even happier.

Few hours passed, and I still hadn't moved, when suddenly, a familiar face looked straight at me. Her mouth was open wide. She seemed very happy and pleased! Nina came over and gave me a hug.

"Good boy! You came to school to wait for me!" She pet my fur as she hugged me close.

A voice then spoke behind her. "Hey, Nina, is that you're new dog?"

Nina turned around. "Yup! Isn't he just cute?" She scratched my head.

"Sure is! What's his name?"

"I haven't given him a name yet. Hm…" She looked at me deep in the eye, and a smile spread across her face. "I'm going to call him…Moon. Because his eyes are white and beautiful, just like the Moon."

I could only thump my tail to those words, even though I didn't know what they meant. But something told me it was a good thing.

So, after I had waited for Nina at that building, she walked me to another building, but this one was smaller. I waited for her outside, because she said it was supposed to be a surprise. She came out with a box, but without saying anything, she took hold of the rope around my neck, and we walked _home_.

When we did get _home_, she had me sit down, and I watched as she started to open the box. I sniffed it, trying to see if I could determine what the object was, but with little luck. When she finally had the box open, she held out a red leather ring of some sort.

She held it out to me, "This is your new collar. See? It has your name on it." She touched a silver tag that was attached to the thing she called a collar. She then opened it, and started putting it around my neck. "There! Now you are really my dog." She smiled and pet me.

I wagged my tail. I liked the words _her dog_. I was her dog. I now belonged to her pack. I was accepted.

Day after day, I waited for Nina at the big building she left for every morning. But there were two days where she didn't go at all, and she spent all day with me. But when she did go back after those two days, I was there at the steps waiting for her to walk through those doors and we walked home.

One day in particular, she told me to not wait for her at the building because she wasn't going to walk through the doors. She told me to stay _home_. I had no choice but to listen to her, so, I lounged around in the entrance to the house, just waiting for her to walk through again.

A scent tickled my nose. When I turned to look, it was the cat.

"Did your master abandon you already, pooch?" He sat near me and gave me a super fake smile.

"Abandon? Nina wouldn't leave me. She loves me." I tiled my head in confusion.

"Tsk. You naïve canine. Dogs like you are always abandoned and forgotten. It's what nature intended for animals like you. Cats are the way to go." He grinned.

I lowered my ears. "You're wrong…" But then I thought, _maybe that's why I ended up on the streets_.

After the cat had left, I lay there alone. Being bothered was the last thing I wanted at that moment. I just couldn't get those nasty words and thoughts out of my head. Nina would never leave me because then her taking me in wouldn't make any sense.

When Nina did come home, I didn't act as excited as I usually do. She tried to play with me, but I just didn't budge. Her face twisted into this sad expression, and she just left me alone.

Before bed, she filled up my bowl, and hugged me good night. "I'm sorry I made you sad today, Moon. Tomorrow you can come wait for me at school again, okay?" She smiled and went off to bed. At least now I could go back to waiting for her. I perked a bit.

In the morning, it was the same routine. Eat, watch Nina eat, follow the yellow car and lay on the steps of the big building. Only this time, I couldn't lay down on the steps. Some big man shooed me off, and told me to get. So I moved, and then went right back up again to lay down. He came again, and shooed me. This was repeated a good few times, until I got a bit frustrated and let out a sigh which made my cheeks flap.

The man gasped, "How dare you growl at me!"

Growl? I didn't growl!

"Get out of here! You beast! We don't need an animal like you around the children!"

At that instant, Nina came to my rescue. "Principle Marger! Please don't scare him. He's my dog. He's waiting for me."

"He is a vicious animal. He shouldn't be allowed around children, none the less free to roam as he pleases!"

"He isn't vicious!" She tugged my ear.

"This animal growled at me! If I ever see him around here again, I will be sure to call animal control!" He wagged his finger in Nina's face.

Nina's face. I had never seen Nina make this face. I couldn't even put a name into it. "Come on, Moon. Let's go home." With that, we headed _home_.


End file.
